Protests for kidnapped girls banned in Nigerian capital

By Aminu Abubakar, for CNN

Updated 5:33 AM ET, Tue June 3, 2014

Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls19 photos

Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Police in riot gear block a route in Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday, October 14, during a demonstration calling on the Nigerian government to rescue schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. In April, more than 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeastern Nigeria, officials and witnesses said.

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Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls19 photos

Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Women in Abuja hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, May 14, one month after the schoolgirls were kidnapped.

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Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls19 photos

Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – People march in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 12, to demand the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls.

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Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls19 photos

Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Catholic faithful in Abuja take Holy Communion and pray for the safety of the kidnapped schoolgirls on Sunday, May 11.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Catholic faithful attend a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Abuja on May 11.

Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – People rally in Lagos on Thursday, May 1.

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Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls19 photos

Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Police stand guard during a demonstration in Lagos on May 1.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Protesters take part in a "million-woman march" Wednesday, April 30, in Abuja.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian education minister and vice president of the World Bank's Africa division, leads a march of women in Abuja on April 30.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – A woman cries out during a demonstration in Abuja on Tuesday, April 29, along with other mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – A man weeps as he joins parents of the kidnapped girls during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok on Tuesday, April 22.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Mothers weep April 22 during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Four female students who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families walk in Chibok on Monday, April 21.

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Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls – Borno state Gov. Kashim Shettima, center, visits the girls' school in Chibok on April 21.

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Story highlights

Demonstrations are banned in the capital city of Abuja

Police are worried about "dangerous elements" joining the protests

More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in northern Nigeria

Police in Nigeria's capital have banned all protests planned in support of the more than 200 girls kidnapped in April.

Commissioner Joseph Mbu said the proliferation of such protests "is now posing a serious security threat" to those living around, and driving through, demonstration sites in the capital city of Abuja.

"I cannot fold my hands and watch this lawlessness," he said in a statement Monday.

"Information reaching us is that too soon dangerous elements will join the groups under the guise of protest and detonate explosive(s) aimed at embarrassing the government. Accordingly protests on the Chibok Girls is hereby banned with immediate effect," the commissioner continued.

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More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in northern Nigeria in April by Boko Haram, in an act that drew international condemnation.

The terror group abducted an estimated 276 girls on April 14 from a boarding school in Chibok. Dozens escaped, but more than 200 girls are still missing.

Nigerians and others have accused their government of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect the girls seized in the dead of night.

Boko Haram translates as "Western education is a sin" in the Hausa language. The militant group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.